Conventionally, when a service is provided to a user terminal device from a service providing device of a service provider via a network, there is proposed a technique for providing a service based on verification of an environment of hardware or software related to a user terminal device to ensure service security.
For example, there is disclosed a technique for a service providing device in which after environment information related to a user terminal device (information on software (such as OS, BIOS, browser, plug-in software) hardware (such as CPU, memory, PCI board) incorporated into the user terminal device, and hardware connected to the user terminal device is acquired from the user terminal device, it is confirmed whether software (for example, security hole is not cared) and hardware, which may lose security are incorporated into the user terminal device or whether hardware which may lose security is connected to the user terminal device, and consequently service provision is denied for the user terminal device for which security can not be ensured due to unauthorized copy (See Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-157790).
However, in the background art, when the number of service users increases and the number of user terminal devices to be verified for an environment increases, there has been a problem that many loads occur on the service providing device.
In other words, it is desirable for the service provider that the number of service users increases, but the number of user terminal devices whose security is to be confirmed also increases along with the increase in the number of users, which causes high cost since the service providing device for ensuring security needs to be enhanced therefor. Thus, it is an important object that even when the number of service users increases, a load is alleviated on the device for verifying the security of the user terminal devices.